Naked Gift Horses And Brutal Legends

When a naked man sends you things, you accept them...

I've known Naked Bob for a while - not really in the close-personal-friend sense, but more like knowing of his presence, though I have had the enjoyment of commenting on his blogs once in a while. It's hard to ignore a man who has built his entire persona around a naked action figure, and such a thing carried over when I introduced him as a shockingly important central character in a 1up-centric comic I drew up a few years ago. Well, about a week ago I was checking out Bob's newest blog and noticed one item of collectable swag he was able to secure was an inflatable wrench from the Ratchet & Clank series. I made an off-hand remark about my soul in return for the item, and was shocked when Bob actually offered to send me the wrench. Sure enough, Saturday afternoon the mail lady arrived with a package addressed to me that contained the very same wrench. But that wasn't all, oh no. Bob was cool enough to include a whole bunch of other stuff too, like stickers and lanyards. There's also a roll of toilet paper tied to No More Heroes 2, but I'm unsure how safe it is to use - what with the dye and the single ply and all... Including those extras was certainly nice of him, and appreciated. The Rockstar logo sticker, in particular, will probably find it's way to my car. Maybe.

Now, the wrench takes it place on my Great Gaming Mantle, sharing a spot with such important pieces as a plush Weighed Companion Cube and a Vault-Boy Bobblehead...

Also, a little bit of an FYI for you guys and gals out there - it's very hard to explain to your wife why you're receiving inflatable objects in the mail from someone named "Naked Bob" in a brown envelope. Just take my word for it on this one, okay? I'm sure the mail lady has some questions too, though she'll just settle with giving me a glare of disapproving judgment.

Have you guys done your part and downloaded the Brutal Legend demo yet? Actually, that's only half of your part in regards to the game - the other 50% requires you to actually go out and buy the damn thing. I was never the biggest fan of heavy metal during just about any part in my life, falling back to the more mainstream stuff I'd hear on the local rock stations (which probably explains my love for 80's hair bands, which seem to get skewered by Schafer, which is fine), but Brutal Legend does one hell of a bang-up job of conveying that sense of the music, of the life style, and most importantly of the unintangible qualities of the genre so much so that the game seemingly drips with the medium - likely featuring some sort of chrome. I've played the demo four or five times, and while the combat is pretty straight-foward, featuring combos and "magic" attacks (the game's pseudo-RTS segments were not featured in the demo), it's really the world that Double Fine has crafted here and the writing that makes the game stick with me. Honestly, Brutal Legend was getting a bit overshadowed behind Uncharted 2 in terms of which game I'd prefer to get next, and both of them come out on the same day, but after playing the demo there's no way I can let Brutal Legend get the back-burner treatment. It's one of those games where the atmosphere it's trying to craft comes through with booming strength, and the music - the awesome music - is pitch-perfect. I've honestly never heard of 3 Inches of Blood before, but their music used in the demo is just so perfect and so incredibly bad ass. I love it. Even Jack Black, who has started to wear pretty thin with me lately, is fantastic. The writing and tone he brings to Eddie Riggs (which is to say, Jack Black at his most Tenacious D) makes the character likable and not the least bit annoying, which was a bit of a concern for me. The dialogue that happens during the cut-scenes and even in real time action is always great and even made me laugh a few times ("DECAPITATION!"). I can appreciate any game that actually makes me laugh out loud - and no, not "lol", and Tim Schafer never seems to fail in the humor arena. So do me a favor and go download the demo if you haven't and give it a shot. It deserves it... But then again, so did Psychonauts and you bastards let that thing get thrown under the sales bus, didn't you... DIDN'T YOU!?!

Comments (15)

Just trying to spread the...er...love...

Glad ya like the stuff! I know it's kinda hard for peoples to attend the big gaming conventions, especially since most of them are on the West Coast. 1uppers have been most generous to me, so I'm always looking to return the favor. The 1up community has got to be the bestest on the internets!!!

Did you see how Tim Schafer got his start at Lucasarts? Hilarious! I too, have played the demo various times. Can't wait for Brutal Legend to arrive! Strangely I've been finding myself playing The Secret of Monkey Island remake on XBLA in anticipation for Brutal Legend. Tim's first time writing for a game? The silly humor? I dunno.

Hey

That was cool of him to send you those nifty things. I agree the demo is sweet but I'll probably get the game a little later, being it releases the same day as Uncharted 2. For now I just opened and started Call of Juarez Bound in Blood on PS3, its pretty good, something different, its set in the old west. I still have to open Need for Speed Shift. Anyway if you decide to make another gaming session let me know so I can join the fun, maybe even a different game this time, I dont know, just a thought. Have a great day.

Psychonauts

wasn't marketed correctly..or should I say, at all.. and although it was a "sleeper hit" eventually the main-stream never got on the wagon.

Brutal Legend will do well... The game is getting theater preview time..and as we know any game that get's that time is already a sure fire hit. Call of Duty, Halo 3, - Jack Black is pushing it and T.S. is always in the news... How can this not be a success?

I don't do demos I just buy the game... unless of course your name is Lost Planet 2.... then I'm all over it.

Crisis.

Hey Greg, respect you as a poster. I have a dilehma. I've been thinking about 3 games. They are Wet, Batman Arkham asylum, and Brutal Legend. Do you think it would be worth it to wait until the 13th of Oct(I believe that is BL's release date) to score me some Metal antics or pick up one of the other two games I mentioned.

I'm leaning towards Batman Arkham Asylum but with BL looking so good and my finacial resources being so limited I'm kinda screwed. lol.

Please Let Him Fall

Bob: Your kindness knows no bounds. Scholar and a gentleman and all that... I know, 1up has one of the better communities - and the last week or so has been piled high with examples for me. I was always more of a Full Throttle sort of guy - I loved that game.

Hawaiian: Yeah, the whole Brutal Legend / Uncharted 2 thing is going to be very difficult. Uncharted 2 reviews are starting to pour in and the game sounds amazing, but Brutal Legend just seems so unique - and I could certainly use a shot of unique in my gaming. With any luck I can just make Uncharted 2 a Christmas request.

Loo: Van Damme makes everything better! And let's not bring Thor into this - I fear a rift will form between us. I will, however, check that album out. My inner Metal Head is born!

Thirdrail: Sadly, my wife thought it was something horrible too. I had to explain to her how, exactly, it was a wrench... As for the controller - I still don't see how you'd be able to play a game like that with a guitar controller, and by utilizing it, you might be cutting off an audience that has managed to avoid the siren's song of music games.

Bob (2): I know! That is both unexpected and awesome. I suggest we now focus our powers on the conquest of Earth.

Fumes: Glad you enjoyed yourself - I know I did. We'll have to do it again some time.

Zumafire: I don't think you can be a sleeper hit unless you sell a lot of games unexpectedly - a feat Psychonauts (sadly) did not accomplish. That being said, I think the look of Brutal Legend lends itself much more to mainstream acceptance and therefore sales. We'll see. The game's been through one hell of a rollercoaster trying to get made, I hope it gets what it deserves.

BrokenH: Hmmm... That's kind of a tough one. As a total knee-jerk reaction, I'd say to pick up Batman: Arkham Asylum, because it is undeniably one of the best games of the year - maybe even the game of the year. Wet looks okay, but I'm not sure it's worth $60. It looks like a sort of watered-down Stranglehold. I'd recommend you either rent that or wait until its price drops. But with Brutal Legend, the game isn't out yet and my experience goes only as far as the demo - which, as you can see, impressed the hell out of me. Maybe you should download it yourself and give it a shot, see how it feels to you. But of those three options at this point in time, Batman is a solid and fun selection you can't really go wrong with.

tNt: Shrinkage. Oh yes, the censor options in the intro are priceless! I tried both selections for each, just for the heck of it. And surprisingly, all options remain funny. How does Schafer do it!?

I Call It The Druid Plow

JonathanDrake: If only I could channel lightning through it... Sad panda.

Spooky_Otaku: Come on, no one really hates metal - county music, sure, but not metal. Wait... You got an LP cover for pre-ordering Brutal Legend!? How did I miss out on such a spectacular collectable!?! Now I'm a double-sad panda...

Naked BoB...

Brutal

I had the same concerns about Brutal Legend you did. Mr. Black can be hit or miss, unfortunately too much on the miss side lately. I was afraid Eddie Riggs would be going "FLE BOP BOBBITY FLIBBITY BEE BOO" through the whole game, but so far I havn't head that yet. Jack Black is talented and I guess it took Mr. Schafers' direction to tune Jack properly.

The number of different variety of gameplay styles in just the demo was a pleasant surprise. The tone of the game is right out of and over the top heavy metal album cover, which was the intent, and they succeeded. Its funny, rockin, original, and FUN.